Mikhail Bardzecki
*'This article is a part of the Code Genesis continuity'. Mikhail Bardzecki born January 14th, 1958, was born the son of Dimitri and Manya Bardzecki, a bank owner and a stay-at-home wife in Moscow. Mikhail, being born the oldest of his family was expected to take care of his other brother and sister, to help his mother around their small town house. Mikhail and his siblings were forced to sleep in a small room together due to the poverty the family suffered through after the effects of WWII. While never having any direct contact with Umbrella, his family became targets of the war once he joined the Soviet Army and were later killed by unknown means. Mikhail was wounded in battle and sent to recuperate in a tent with Lieutenant Colonel Ivan Demidov, a superior officer whom Mikhail had never met before. The two would later become good friends and not just allies on the war front. Ivan and Mikhail were rarely seen apart, despite their vast separation of rank and status. When Ivan met and fell in love with Mary Walker, Mikhail actually supported the relationship, despite the ill-feelings the Americans and the Russians felt toward one another at the time. He was just happy to see his friend happy. However, when Mary was killed, Mikhail distrusted anyone who came in contact with Ivan, for fear of his safety and the safety of his leader's son. He became the godfather of Mischa after the boy was born. What was strange was meeting Claire Redfield for the first time. Mikhail first expressed apathy toward her, but he learned that Claire was a genuinely kind person and seemed to get along well with his leader. It shocked him when Claire actually struck up a decent conversation with him in their travels. Later on, when Ivan expresses emotions for Claire, Mikhail supports it because Claire was the only woman who has made Ivan happy in so long. 'Early Life and History with Umbrella' "You look like a man who's seen worse than I have..." --Ivan's first words to Mikhail in a medical tent. Mikhail grew up in near poverty with his two other siblings in Moscow Russia. He was raised learning to respect authority and never speak out of term. Mikhail enlisted in the army and after rigorous training and excercise, he became one of the best soldiers of his time. Proud of his status, he traveled home to inform his family of his success, but was horrified to learn that their home had been raided during the night by angry civilians, enraged by his father's banking mistakes and belief that he was one of the men responsible for the economy crash. Mikhail struggled to fight through the angry mob and was hurt in the process. Shortly after the authorities arrived, Mikhail awoke to the sights and sounds of superior officers going to help him. To his horror, he found his father with his skull broken in two and his mother and siblings beaten to death. This caused Mikhail's bitter silence for a good bit of his life before he met Ivan in a medical tent. The two men were silent to one another, before Ivan spoke the first words. Mikhail learned that Ivan shared the same painful past, only he had grown up without a family, which made Mikhail pity him because of this. They connected well and shared their past's with one another. Mikhail even stayed silent about Ivan's "condition", claiming that his superior officers were "leeches anyway". After two weeks in the tent, the men returned to battle and stayed together for the rest of their days in war and even after. Ivan had actually saved Mikhail's life once and many times afterward. Mikhail met Mary Walker later on and at first, he didn't think much of her, being an American and all, but he quickly changed his views after seeing that Ivan expressed a love for her. It was later on when Mary was attacked by two of her own fellow soldiers--drunk and very eager to start trouble-- that Ivan suddenly flew into a blood-thirsty rage. It shocked Mikhail that this would happen and after Ivan literally tore the men to pieces, it took Mary and Mikhail both to calm him down. After explaining everything to them, Ivan wanted to know if Mikhail still felt the same way about him. Mikhail did. His decision to stay with his leader came from his lack of having nothing else to go back to and nothing to lose. After they moved to America with Ivan's small, but eager crew, Mikhail and Ivan crossed paths with James Pierce, father to Rose Bedford. It was there that the two learned James was a biological researcher and could help Ivan control his fits. Afterward, Mary and Ivan found a home together where they raised their son for the beginning of his life. Mikhail was named Mischa's godfather by Mary and Ivan and he gladly accepted the honor. He worked as a dock worker while staying close to his leader, a necessary feeling of devotion. After Mary was away to go to the store and Mikhail working the docks, news got back to Ivan that his wife had been shot during a robbery attempt. Once Mikhail had heard the news, he rushed back to the house and found it in complete shambles. Ivan was in the living room, screaming, his face damp with tears. It took Mikhail and Ivan's crew to calm him down. Afterward, Mikhail learned that it had been orchestrated by Umbrella to kill Mary. There was a suggestion that Alex had allowed for this to happen to cause Ivan to detach from the world the way it had happened for Rose. Ivan later turned his home and property into a junkyard, claiming that "the world's garbage" can disappear and be sold to bigger garbage. 'Education' "You don't know many things. I didn't go to your public schools, but I learned more on the streets in one day than you did your entire life." --Mikhail, to Leon. Mikhail's growing up in poverty gave him little time to receive a proper education. He had to learn most of his teachings from his mother on the side and even then, it lacked greatly for his future. He did learn most things on the streets from older children, like how to ride bikes and how to fight. Mikhail's parents had been too busy to do some things for him, so he had to teach himself and his brother and sister. He was taught proper mathematics and skills by the army. 'Personality' Mikhail has a very frank and straight-to-the-point personality. He is often seen standing very quiet and motionless, never really speaking a word to the strangers who arrive at his boss' junkyard. Mikhail is quick to distrust anyone after what he had witnessed in the past. He has a deep, brooding personality at times, which can be very intimidating to everyone else. Sometimes, he will make the occasional threat if it means getting the point across. He has a fierce sense of loyalty, especially to Ivan and his family. 'Wardrobe' "I wear what I wish. Do not speak against my country..." --Mikhail to Leon, regarding his Soviet Armband. Mikhail dresses in almost the same fashion the way Ivan does, only he sports thick chest armor and a brown jacket over that with fur around the neck collar. He wears a patch over his eye due to being partially blind from a gunshot to the face and a military beret. His boots have spikes on the heels and on the tips of his toes when he delivers sharp kicks to his enemies' soft, unprotected bellies. He wears gloves because of wicked burns on his hands. 'Physical Appearance' Mikhail's age comes into factor here as unlike Ivan who cannot age, Mikhail undoubtedly can. He has coarse grey hair and a thin beard. The left side of his face is covered in mild scarring and his eye there is slightly blinded, a reversal of Ivan's right eye, which is slitted and he can see very well. His hands have been burned from a flame thrower and horribly scarred. He is muscular and very strong, given his age and could still knock a few heads together if he wanted to. 'Relationships' Parents "My father would have told you to mind your own business, boy." --Mikhail, to Chris over the video phone. Mikhail was on proper grounds with his parents and respected them the way any boy should. He loved them very much, despite how busy they were. His father relied on Mikhail to be the "man of the house" while he was gone and at the bank. After their murder, Mikhail was rendered bitter and silent, which actually proved useful to his superiors because he didn't question authority nor did he speak against anyone. He wears a chain around his neck which was owned by his father. Siblings "My sister would have loved you..." --Mikhail, to Claire. Mikhail was expected to care for his younger brother and sister growing up, so he was put on very odd ends with them at times. He fought with them and became frustrated by the tasks that he had to do, but learned that it was expected in his household. He punched his brother in the arm once when the boy tried to fight with his sister over a snack. Mikhail expresses only the fiercest of protection to his siblings, despite his odds with them and has even beaten a boy up for teasing his brother about his height. Alex Wesker "That bastard dog will pay for what he's done to you." --Ivan and Mikhail, talking about what would be done about Alex. Mikhail despised Alex for what harm he had done to the world, but most especially, to Ivan and his wife. Once he learned that Claire and Leon were going to stop him, he jumped at the chance to join along if it meant getting revenge for his leader. He never actually meets Alex head on, but he battles his goons who work alongside him. Rose Bedford While Mikhail and Rose had never really met one another, Mikhail did know of her from his research through Umbrella's files where he was able to find a connection between Rose and Ivan's incidents regarding their fallen loved ones. Because Rose generally gets along with Ivan, Mikhail ultimately does not hold anything against her. He even likes her because they all share the same horrible past and connect so well. Leon Kennedy "If you do not silence your tongue, perhaps I can take it off of your hands." --Mikhail, threatening Leon. Leon was the first one on Mikhail's black list, being he seems to have a problem with him being Russian and his leader. He is always at war with the man and disgusted by his deeply racial views, only because of what he had dealt with by the late Sergei Vladimir and the rocky history that Russia had with America long ago. He finds Leon to be a nuisance and a little bit of a pest to him and even threatens him when he has the chance. All in all, he would rather see Leon disposed of, but would never speak of this because Leon and Claire seem to be friends. Chris Redfield "I do not like you. Period." --Mikhail, to Chris over the video phone. Mikhail's feelings of Chris aren't generally as poor as Leon's. He sees Chris to be "naive" about things, but he still refuses to enjoy Chris' company particularly because of his feelings about his leader and Rose, being born the way they were. Once Chris eases up on them, Mikhail seems to relax. Claire Redfield "You are strange. Not like the others. ... I like that." --Mikhail, to Claire. Mikhail enjoys Claire's company because she seems kind and doesn't seem to judge Ivan whatsoever. Claire doesn't think that it would be needed to do so since Ivan was not the enemy, which Mikhail respected. He was surprised when Claire started to talk to him out of the blue and even asked "how his life had been". He is unused to being treated with respect by an "outsider" and even more, was stunned when his leader revealed his feelings for her. James Pierce "He was a good man." --Mikhail, on James and his kindness to Ivan. Mikhail and James had met in America shortly after he moved there to live with Ivan and his family. James was what Mikhail had described as a "good man" for helping Ivan with his blood lust problems and he respected him completely for his kindness. When he learned of James' fate, he felt great sadness because "no one that nice deserved that". 'Trivia' *Mihkail's character was inspired by the author's grandfather. *The name Mikhail \m(i)-khail, mik-hail\ is a variant of Michael (Hebrew), and the meaning of Mikhail is "who resembles God?". The baby name Mikhail sounds like Michail, Mikal, Mikael and Michal. Other similar baby names are Mihail, Mikhalis and Nikhil. Mikhail is an uncommon first name for men but a very common last name for both men and women (#37357 out of 88799). (1990 U.S. Census). *Mikhail is a very quiet man and hardly speaks a word save for a few murmurs and grunting sounds, and the occasional cold remark to Leon until the events of Ivan's son's death occur and he reveals a strange, sensitive side that Claire had no idea existed. *Mikhail is supposed to represent Ivan's guardian angel in a way an angel leads a person on the right path when they find trouble. In a sense, Mikhail does this when Ivan enters the throes of his blood lust. 'Appearances' *Resident Evil: Code Genesis (First appearance)